If Stranger Things Got Stuck In the Upside Down
by Xx.kyleee.xX
Summary: What if Eleven shut the gate on Mike and the others? How would they escape? Would this mean the end, or the beginning of a new story? If you have any suggestions, feel free to write a review! It'll help a lot, cause I'm struggling to know whether the story is good or not, thanks! ...Sorry for the late publishing, I'm reviewing old chapters to make them better.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning of An Ending

The pain tore through her body in waves, the effort draining her energy. Eleven didn't notice the small figures being dragged by the Demodogs, she was slipping out of consciousness, slowly but surely. She coughed to keep herself awake. It felt like hours. There was no breaks, no drinks or snacks, no one to spur her on (apart from Hopper, but he was battling the stray 'Dogs) and most importantly, no Mike. Suddenly there was a snap and a bang, and the hole was so close to being closed. She felt excitement – she could finally lead a normal life! Her hands were shaking, she concentrated every spare inch of energy into her hands and forced them to stay rigid. It slowly shuddered and quickened it's pace. After what felt like hours, the hole burned like fire and it had shut. The Demodogs shrivelled up and vanished. The long, black Demogorgon Tentacle El felt her nose, the nosebleed had come out through both nostrils. Her face was covered in blood. Hopper turned around just in time to see her fall. He caught her and as she lost consciousness, he cried tears of painful joy.

~.~

When they finally got back to Joyce's house, Hopper laid El down on Will's bed.

"Just sleep OK? I'll go find help, or everyone else, huh?" He told her.

She nodded and closed her eyes, she was still knocked out cold. Hopper walked out of the bedroom.

He called out to Joyce, but no reply came.

"Mike?" No reply. "Lucas?". Still no reply. "Dustin? Max? Will?" Hopper shouted worriedly.

His pulse quickened, then slowed. They were probably on their way back now, Will should be fine and everyone else too; they were all strong and fierce. Hopper found a chair in the living room and sat down. He then drooped his head on a pillow and slept.

~.~

After a couple of hours, he woke up to the sound of rain pattering the windows.

"Oh lord! I forgot the door!" He said whilst running to the back door and slamming it shut.

He looked around and sighed, the whole room was wet and cold. Multiple sighs and groans later, the room was dry, but still cold. Despairingly, he walked back to Will's bedroom and checked on Eleven. She had opened her eyes and was looking out of the window

"Why were you sighing..?" Eleven looked at him sleepily.

"Oh, I stupidly left the door open, and now It's raining!" Hopper replied rolling his eyes.

El snickered and Hopper looked at her pouting. Eleven secretly worried about Mike. She couldn't connect to him through their minds. She wondered whether a stray Demodog had found them. She shivered.

"Are you cold? Do you want me to shut the windows; It's still raining y'know?" Hopper was still so protective of her, after all that had happened.

El loved him, but sometimes his love got a bit too much.

"I'm fine, don't worry Dad!" She laughed.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Hopper asked.

"I dunno, maybe go shopping with Mike or Max?" She chewed her lip and thought of where they could be. Hopper looked down at the floor and twiddled his thumbs. He rubbed his arm where he had hit it on the banister. El sneaked a glance at him, and was surprised to see he looked depressed. She suddenly felt bad for not including him in her plans.

"Are you ok? Look, we can do something together if you want." She said hurriedly

He looked up quickly and gave her a reassuring smile,

"What? No I'm fine. I just… hurt my arm." She nodded and hugged him.

"I love you, Dad!" She said happily.

She stood up and shooed him from her room whilst she changed into the unicorn nightgown Mike had bought her. She told him he could come back in again, and as she pulled the covers up, he opened the door. El smiled sleepily at him.

Hopper sat down on the bed, stroking her hair. She closed her eyes and swatted him away, she needed to sleep! He laughed and kissed her goodnight. He turned out the lights and wandered down the corridor to Joyce's bedroom where he got undressed. He then hesitantly got into her bed and tried to sleep. As hard as they tried, it was a sleepless night for both of them.


	2. Chapter 2: An Epiphany

The next morning, Hopper got up and stretched his legs.

"Wake up El, i'm going to make us some breakfast," He said opening her door.

El's eyes snapped open and looked at Hopper expectantly.

"Eggos?" She said blandly.

Hopper shrugged and smiled "Maybe, maybe not… depends on what Joyce has, huh?".

She frowned and then laughed.

Hopper walked to Joyce's room where his clothed were dumped and got dressed. El did the same in Will's bedroom, putting on her old dungarees and baby blue shirt. She brushed her hair and looked in the mirror at her hopeful face.

In the other room, Hopper was getting more and more distressed about the others. He started to get dressed (whilst looking at a painting on the wall) and suddenly realised something. There were some bigger Demodogs climbing back through the hole, and they were slower than the others. He vaguely remembered watching them between fighting the 'Dogs away. They also seemed more deformed than the others, as if they were carrying bodies. People… The right size to be Mike, Lucas, Max, Dustin, Steve, Will, Jonathan, Nancy and Joyce… There was an unearthly noise from the other room, and Hopper stood up, half dressed and scared.

~.~

Hopper ran into Eleven in the hallway.

"El! What happened?" Hopper started.

"The wall, it, it _spoke_ to me..?" Eleven said clearly confused.

Hopper stared, mouth gaping wide open. He started walking down to the kitchen with Eleven trailing behind him when it struck him.

"Wait, what?!" Hopper had a flashback to Joyce's meetings with him about Will.

"Are you, okay?" She asked nervously.

Hopper looked at her and nodded. He shook his head like a dog and grabbed some Eggos (Joyce had luckily stocked up the day before the day before). El's delighted face made him grin and he set them on a plate.

"Pass me some syrup would you?" He asked.

She blinked and grabbed it from the shelf.

"Thanks." He said whilst pouring it all over the waffles.

A couple of moments passed before she said,

"That's too much." Clearly bemused but annoyed.

He continued to pour it over them, eyes glazed over, and it spilled onto the counter.

"That's too much!" Eleven flushed with anger and sent the plate clattering on the ground.

The syrup dripped off the counter and Eleven's eyes drifted down at the scene. Hopper stood still and closed his eyes, listening to the _drip, drip, drip_ of it.

"Sorry." He said eventually.

"What happened?!" She looked at him, and he rubbed his forehead.

"Look, I'm worried. Can you just show me the place it spoke to you?" He frowned, trying to change the subject. El nodded and ran off to the bedroom, Hopper at her heels.

~.~

The engine spluttered and the old car started up. El looked out of the window as the dreary morning blessed them with mist and fog. Hopper tried to keep his mind on driving, but an image of the kids strapped to the wall by the Demogorgon, like Barb was kept pushing itself inside of his mind… After forty-five minutes of trying to find clear skies, they arrived at the place it had all begun. Hopper felt miserable, he thought everything would be over, after all of the drama with Dr. Brenner and all of the horrible, horrible people inside that facility. Hopper felt proud that Eleven called him "Dad". He was sure El had never said that to Brenner, or anyone else for that matter. Eleven, however, felt angry. Why was she back here again, when she should be leading a normal life – with Max and Mike by her side?

"Why are we here again?" She questioned.

"Look, this place technically _made_ the gateway. This is the only location we can find out about where the others are and why they're gone." Hopper replied.

El nodded and got ready to blast the doors off, she put her hand up and forced some of the anger ou-

 _ **CRASH!**_

Hopper had broken a window and was gesturing for her to follow him. She rolled her eyes, lowered her hand and walked over to the shattered remains of the window.

~.~

"Don't touch those buttons..!" Hopper warned El.

She was just about to open the inside door with the pin number when Hopper told her not to.

"Why? I think I know what it is!" She glared.

"It'll set the alarms off, and I'm already in enough trouble with the cops as it is…" Hopper sighed.

"Well we'll just have to drive back home then." Eleven said stoutly.

He held his head in his hands. He then looked up and shook his head.

"Did I raise you to be a quitter? No. No I didn't. My Dad didn't either, so show me what you got." He looked at the door then at the keypad. Eleven caught on and rushed up to it. She screwed her face up in concentration and she punched in some random numbers. It beeped and the small light flashed red. She tried another code, but again it beeped and flashed red. There were two red dots and El's heart started to beat. She hung her head in a desperate attempt to remember. Suddenly the numbers swam in front of her face; 81132... Her head shot up and she punched them in. The lights flashed green and a ting followed it. Hopper pushed open the door and congratulated her.

"Well done! How did you know what it was?" Hopper asked.

"I dunno. Just came to me I guess." She answered plainly.

He frowned but walked down the corridor anyway. They had to move, there was no time at all.


	3. Chapter 3: The Tear

El ran through the murky corridors as the sirens grew louder. What happened? Hopper hadn't walked in front of a security camera had he? His footsteps were coming closer to El, and he turned around the corner to see her standing in the middle of the room, cowering from the wall.

"What's wrong Sweetie?" He inquired.

She flinched and grimaced.

That had gone a bit too far.

"I, um, think you walked in front of a security camera and… I heard a Venom Sniper." Trying to forget what he's just said.

"What's a… Senom Viper?" He said.

"Venom Sniper," She corrected "And it's this weird laser gun, so don't step on the cracks of the tiles, or they'll set off."

 _Random!_ He thought, but didn't question her knowledge.

"You have to do it here. Open another gate." He blurted out, he too, being random.

She stared at him opened mouthed. She had to do it here, at such short notice, with Venom Snipers possibly around the corner? She shook her head.

"No. Too risky." She said.

"There's no choice, _Jane_. You have to. Or Mike won't be found, ever again." He knew he had won her oven when he referred to Mike. Sadly, she walked over to the wall, careful not to step on the cracks. She closed her eyes and thought of the pain she went through here. She raised her hands regretfully and willed the fury to flow through her veins and into her hands and fingers. After a moment, there was a creak and the wall cracked.

"El, be careful!" Hopper warned, sensing danger.

Her insides churned and she yelled, letting the anger take over. There was a tearing noise, and the wall started to break apart, showing red, raw slime. She screamed and cried, not sure what was happening as quiet whirring was heard.

~.~

After several of (what seemed like hours) minutes of screaming and crying, the gate was big enough for Hopper to crawl through. El stopped screaming and swayed on the spot.

"Hop, Hoppe, Hopper...?" She whispered.

"El, you did good, but there's a weird sound coming from over there." He said pointing to the corridor.

She gasped as metallic voices cut through the murky air

"Surrender, intruders. Surrender, intruders." They sang in chorus.

"What's wrong?" He said panicking.

She looked back at him, equally scared.

"They've found us. We have to go, now!" She yanked his arm towards the new gate and stepped forward. She reached out a hand to touch it and felt clammy, cold, grotesque slime. Her hand instinctively drew back, and she shivered. El turned around and heard the chanting grow louder. Hopper's head shot around and his eyes widened.

Quick, El!" He warned.

El whimpered and touched the goo again. She forced her hand through until her arm was inside. She closed her eyes and knelt down, crawling through the gate and into the Upside Down.

~.~

Hopper scrambled through, just as the Venom Snipers were around the corner. He shivered and stood away from the hole.

"Can they get into here?" He asked.

"Probably, but they're still quite dumb, so I doubt it. They were installed with _very_ high-tech lasers." She said glancing up at him.

Suddenly a growling noise was heard and a Demodog ran through the murk towards them. El gasped and hid behind Hopper who stood in front of her protectively. He braced for impact, clenched his fists and shut his eyes, holding out his arms to stop it-

 _ **SMASH!**_

A figure collided with it, pinning it to the ground and stabbing it through the heart with a spike. The figure looked up with determined eyes and a fierce look on it's face.

"You two are absolutely stupid!" Lucas walked up to them and grasped Hopper with chapped hands.

"You've been her two days Lucas, why are you being so dramatic?" Hopper jested and clapped him on the back.


	4. Chapter 4: Friendly Faces

El stood up in the pitch-black room. Her eyes widened as she saw a figure slumped on the ground. Her mouth hung slightly open, she cautiously approached it. It was Mike. She stifled a gasp and crouched down next to him, hands shaking. She touched him, and he felt cold, _really_ cold. His eyes were shut and his face was slashed near the eye. Tears stung her face as she whispered his name;

"Mike? Mike?! _Mike!_ " She sank down onto the floor, sobbing, her tears falling on the floor next to him.

She lay there sniffing when suddenly he stirred and his eyes twitched. He gagged and opened his eyes slowly, leaning on an elbow to prop himself up. He gazed off into space, but a look of recognition slowly spread across his face.

"El..?" His voice was strained, yet hopeful.

She looked up, smiled and blinked back happy tears, she reached out her hand to clasp his, when Hopper's voice boomed out across the endless room;

"El? El! Wake up! I've found Lucas! Max is outside scouring the area, looking for the others! We've found them!" His voice shattered her hope like a hammer shattering glass.

She wanted to see Max, of course! She was her friend, maybe even a best friend. Was that what they called it? But right now, she wanted to be with Mike. Her hand withdrew and her ecstatic expression quickly faded into sadness. The room was sliced with light, and Mike gasped, he couldn't see her but he felt her presence fade.

"El! Don't go, plea-" His voice was cut off by piercing light, and El's return to the real world.

~.~

Her eyes fluttered open, and she coughed. Sitting up slowly, she glanced at her surroundings: Hopper worriedly talking to Lucas, dirty floors, murky walls, tentacles creeping on the floor, heading her way... Wait. Tentacles creeping up to her? That's not normal, is it?

"Help!" She yelped before jumping up to stamp on it.

"No El! That's only gonna make it worse!" Lucas told her, frightened.

Hopper yanked Eleven out of the way as it tried to grab her neck. He picked up the gun he had brought with them and pointed it at the tentacle.

"Stay away you two, I'm going to shoot in 3…2…1…" He pulled the trigger and the bullet shot out of the shotgun. Lucas screamed, and El looked at him confused. It hit the tentacle and it shrivelled up. It retreated, leaving slime in it's wake. Lucas apologised;

"Sorry, I hate guns. Plus, it scared me!".

Eleven shook her head and laughed. They were safe! And when Max came back, they could be unstoppable. Even if Mike wasn't there.

~.~

By the time Max had come back, El had gone over every single possible way of defeating the Demogorgon. It had kidnapped her boyfriend, and now she wanted revenge. She had thought of opening another gate to another dimension, summoning a demon, you name it, she had thought of it. They tried to keep happy, but when Max finally made her way back, everyone was sat in sullen silence.

"What's up with you guys? Did someone die or somethin'?" Max joked.

El looked up, dark circles under her eyes.

"Mike could've." And with that she burst into tears, the pain and sadness over the last couple of days flooding out. Max opened her mouth to say something but thought it best to not. Lucas stood up, wrapped his arm around Max and kissed her cheek. Max slid out of his grip playfully and giggled. Hopper cleared his throat and gestured to sniffling El. Max snapped out of her playful mood and crouched down near her, comforting her while Lucas stood awkwardly behind them.

"Hopper said we can go, but I want to find everyone else." Lucas said swallowing.

Max agreed.

"We can't leave now, the party's just started!" Everyone laughed.

El looked up and smiled at Lucas and Max. She was still wary of Lucas, but thought it wasn't a good time to bring it up.

"You'll help me find Mike?" They nodded and she beamed.

She wiped away the tears from her face and stood up.

"What about Will and Dustin, and Nancy, and Jonathan, and Steve, AND Joyce?" Hopper said ruining the moment yet again. El sighed, Lucas frowned and Max just looked at him;

"We'll find them. But I think El wants to find Mike…" She whispered the last part, gesturing at her sombre face. Hopper bit his lip.

"Ok, but promise me we'll find Joyce? She'll be terrified. Especially if she's on her own!" His voice crescendoed until it couldn't get any higher. They gaped at him. He felt his face turning a deep shade of scarlet.

"Sorry…" He muttered.

"Um, don't be sorry? We should've thought of them… I can't believe I forgot my two best friends…" Lucas said ashamed.

Hopper placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes;

"We'll find them, don't worry." He looked off into the corridor, "I know we will…"

Max looked at him confused.

"Why are you always so dramatic?" Max giggled.

El and Lucas snickered, finally agreeing on something. El wouldn't tell them she saw Mike just yet. She'd keep his hopeful, smiling face for herself until the time was right...


	5. Chapter 5: An Argument

"So, you two? What happened, and how are you still alive?" Hopper didn't mean to sound as if he wanted them to be dead, he was just curious. They were walking down the corridor, and Max was marking the way they had come.

"To be honest, I don't really know!" Max smiled and whistled a jaunty tune.

El had heard it before… Suddenly she found herself humming along too. Lucas sighed and tried to explain;

"We were at these, tunnels, and then loads of Demodogs ran past us. Dustin vanished so we all tried to find him, then we were ambushed…" Lucas trailed off, his face screwed up in concentration "I can't really remember 'cause all I felt was pain. I mean, then we woke up on the Demodog's back."

"Yeah me and Lucas were together, but I don't know about the others." Max finished.

Hopper strode ahead, clearly thinking about Joyce. El looked at Max who had carried on whistling. She seemed alright, but clearly shaken from the experience. Suddenly, El realised she had never seen the Upside Down, nor Lucas, Mike or Dustin. She whimpered and hurried towards Hopper.

"Hopper..? Lucas, Mike and Dustin haven't ever been here before. Mike's gonna be scared! We need to be quick!" She babbled, not noticing that he wasn't paying attention.

"Mmm." He answered staring straight ahead.

El glanced up to see his eyes glazed over. She swallowed a scream, as a feeling of panic rose in her stomach. He could've been taken by the Demo- She whipped around and accidentally bumped into Lucas.

"Hey, watch where you're going idiot!" Lucas snarled.

Eleven shrank away from him and ran to Max, who was frowning at Lucas.

"Hey! Don't be rude to her, she's scared. And to be honest, I am too…" She scolded.

He drooped his head and muttered a hasty 'sorry' to her. He didn't want to make Max or Eleven mad. They'd both kill him twice over.

~.~

They had ventured out of the facility and were faced with a terrifying endless forest. El whimpered, Lucas groaned and even Max was silent, but Hopper was determined. He walked out of the rusty door and set off down the track leading to the forest. Max sighed and followed him, rolling her eyes. El hurried to catch up with her, and Lucas trudged along, bringing up the rear. El could hear snarls in the distance, but chose to ignore them. Silently she prayed to keep Mike safe, she couldn't lose him! She'd never forgive herself if he had died. It would all have been her fault. Everything was her fault. She wished she'd never-

" _AHHHH!_ " Screamed Lucas.

He had tripped over a small stick, and was lying on the ground. Upon closer look, it wasn't a stick at all. It was a bone. Max helped him to his feet and his face summed everything up. Terror beyond all measure. Hopper was still walking along the path, ignoring the cries from El and Max. El shouted at him, but he shook his head and carried on.

" _ **LISTEN TO ME, YOU IDIOT!**_ " Max yelled, " _ **YOU DON'T JUST IGNORE HER LIKE THAT. WE'LL BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU IF YOU LEAVE, AND WE WON'T CARE. DO YOU EVEN CARE IF WE DIE? YOU CALL HER YOUR DAUGHTER YOU ARROGANT, SELFISH LITTLE COP!**_ "

Hopper turned around eyes wide. Max was breathing heavily and glaring at him. He bowed his head and turned towards El who looked hurt and betrayed. Inside he knew he had only been trying to find Joyce, but that didn't help the fact he had hurt El; his daughter.

"I, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened..!" He stuttered, and took a step backwards.

Max shook her head mockingly.

"We're better off without you." She glared at him and took Lucas' and El's arms.

They walked past him in a line and he looked at them, brows furrowed. Of course Max ignored him, but inside she was crying. She hated him, but she knew they couldn't survive without him. He had a gun, he was almost three times their age. He was strong and brave. Though earlier El ran from him…

"El, why did you run from Hopper earlier?" She whispered.

"His, _eyes_ , went funny. They looked like they were glazed over. And I thought he was like Will, when he got… controlled." She looked at her with tearful eyes.

Max's insides shrivelled up, Hopper acting strange, glazed eyes, him not caring about anything… This could only mean one thing. Hopper was _gone_. Hopper was under the Demogorgon's control. And there wasn't _anything_ they could do at the moment.

 ** _I'm sorry I haven't posted for ages (yet again) but this is a short chapter. The next chapter should hopefully be much better and longer! Thanks._**


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